Derek Cole from Simmons One Hour Heating Air explains why topping off refrigerant is a waste of money. If your AC is low on refrigerant, you have a leak. Fix the leak instead of paying for repeated refills that won't solve the problem.
Home and Life Comfort with Derek Cole. Hey, welcome back to the Home and Life covered podcast where we cut through the myths and give you the real talk about keeping our home comfortable year round. I'm Derek Cole with Simmons. One hour heating air serving Fayetteville, Pinehurst, Lumberton, Martin and the surrounding areas. Today's episode is a little phrase you probably heard before. We just need to top off our unit this year. Well, I'm here to tell you that if you have your ac, if your AC needs refrigerant, every single year or two, you've got a bigger problem. Topping it off, adding a little bit of Freon, adding a pound of refrigerant is not the solution. First, let's clear this up. Refrigerant is not like gasoline in your car. It's not getting used up over time. Your air conditioning system is a sealed system. It's a sealed, sealed loop. If everything's working right, the refrigerant should last the life of the system. You shouldn't need a refill. You shouldn't need to top it off unless there is a problem. Here's the kicker. If you just keep adding refrigerant without fixing the leak, you're throwing money away. A tank comes out, adds refrigerant and leaves without addressing the leak. All you bought yourself is a temporary cooldown. The refrigerant, if it's escaped before, the refrigerant will escape again, maybe in weeks, maybe in months, and you'll be back where you started adding refrigerant. Not only does this cost you money for the repeat visits, repeated visits, it can shorten the lifespan of your system. And not including lifespan, it can also jack up your energy bills because your AC is working harder than it should. I kind of always relate this to your body and the blood. Okay? If you need refrigerant, if you need blood, that means your body's low on blood. That means your system is low on refrigerant. So is it going to operate on the optimal level if it needs refrigerant? Are you going to operate on optimal levels if you need blood? If you don't have enough blood, you're not gonna feel good. Your body is not gonna operate at peak efficiency. Your system is the same way. If it needs refrigerant, it's not gonna operate the way it should. So what's the Vicks? How do you do this? Well, you start with the leak detection. I mean, whether it's a coil, whether it's a fitting or a line set or copper lines, we need to repair and fix it or replace it. Then you can recharge the system with the right amount of refrigerant. Once the leak is fixed, your system should hold the refrigerant for years without issue. That's how you save money. That's how you protect your system. That's how you keep your home comfortable all summer long without living this never ending cycle of hey, I need Freon, I need Freon, I need Freon. Stop the cycle and fix the leak. So if you've had the adverb drone more than once, don't wait for it to run out again. Give us a call at Simmons one hour Heating air and we'll fix it right the first time. For more tips on protecting your home comfort and saving money on energy costs, subscribe to this podcast. Till next time, I'm Derek Cole, your friend in Comfort in Energy Savings, Home and Life Comfort with Derek Cole.
